Successor to the Planet of the Apes
by carmelspanial
Summary: This is a Planet of the Apes story that takes place afew decades after the movie Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Caesar has just died and his son Alexander in now leader. This is my first fan fiction ao any kind so NO FLAMES! Chapter 2 is up.
1. Assention to power

"Successor to the Planet of the Apes"

"Successor to the Planet of the Apes"

Chapter 1-Assention to Power

It had been two days since Caesar's funeral. He had only been fifty-one years old when he had suffered a lethal heart attack. It had not been expected or planned for: there had been no warning signs that it would happen. No chest pain, nothing. It had happened right in the middle of a counsel meeting, and despite the best efforts of the doctors Caesar was dead. Now Caesar's only surviving child, his twenty five year old son Alexander, was leader. 

The transition from Caesar to Alexander had not been an easy one for the people of the city, be they human or simian. For most of them Caesar had been the only leader they had ever known. Not just because he was the founder and first leader of the city but also because most of the people were too young to remember life in the Forbidden City. They had only heard stories about the cruel treatment of the apes at the hands of the humans and most of those stories were greatly exaggerated. They had been spread by a small minority of ape supremacists who to make humans second-class citizens. They had been second-class citizens in the beginning.But then, after Aldo's war with the surviving humans of the Forbidden City, Caesar had made ape and human equal. It was a move that some apes, even almost three decades later, disagreed with. 

Alexander knew that this was only one issue he would have to deal with as leader. Now, as the first counsel meeting since Caesar's death was about to get under way, Alexander was wondering weather he had what it takes to be leader. He was shy and didn't like to speak publicly. He had been a poor student and a rebellious child. And he was young, just twenty-five years old. So what? My age makes no difference." He thought to himself as he watched the members of counsel slowly filtering into the counsel chambers and take their seats "Father was only twenty years old when he led the great slave revolt back in the Forbidden City. Besides, what choice do I have? To abdicate my position and leave the city without a leader? I couldn't do that." 

Alexander settled back in his chair and looked out at the still assembling counsel. It was divided into four sections, chimpanzee, orangutan, gorilla and human, with fifteen representatives for each. The leader of the chimpanzee section was a female chimpanzee named Lisa, Caesar's wife and Alexander's mother. The orangutan leader was a former advisor of Caesar's named Virgil. Virgil was widely conceded the wisest ape in the city, and young chimpanzees, orangutans and humans competed fiercely to be accepted as one of Virgil's students. The human leader was another one of Caesar's formed advisors. He was McDonald, the brother of the only human to help Caesar during the great ape slave revolt. That McDonald had died in the nuclear was that followed Caesar's revolt but his brother had survived and had gone on to become Caesar's human advisor. This was the McDonald that was now on the counsel. The gorilla leader was an army general by the name of Kirov. Kirov was a known ape supremacist, which was probably why the humans on the counsel didn't trust him. He had a reputation for getting his what he wanted, and many chimpanzee, orangutans and humans wanted him off the counsel. But the gorillas, most of which were soldiers loyal to their general, kept re-electing him so there was nothing that could be done about it. 

Alexander continued watching the members of counsel filter into the room and arrange themselves behind their desks. Kirov hadn't arrived yet though the rest of the gorillas were already in their places. Most of the counsel members were now present, sitting behind their desks waiting for the general's arrival.

"Where the hell is he?" Alexander wondered. "I've got to get this meeting underway." Virgil, the orangutan leader, got up from his desk and went to speak with Alexander. 

"Sir, we really should get started. We have waited for the general long enough. "

"I know. Virgil. Still' it is only fair that we give General Kirov time to arrive. We will wait another ten minutes but no longer. If he is not here by then we will get started."

Virgil nodded. "Yes sir. But…well… I was only thinking that since we all agree that the counsel would be better off without the general…"

"Are you suggesting that we hold the meeting without the general present?

"Well…yes I am, Sir."

Alexander shook his head. "The gorillas wouldn't stand for it. The last thing I need right now is a divided counsel, Virgil. Besides, the army needs a voice in counsel, and more then anyone else Kirov is that voice."

Virgil shrugged. "Your decision, Sir." With that Virgil took his place again. 

Ten minutes passed with no Kirov. "This meeting has got to get started." Alexander thought to himself. "I gave you your chance, Kirov. The counsel will not sit here and await your arrival like this any longer." Alexander stood up and began to address counsel. "My friends since General Kirov has not yet arrived I have decided…"

As Alexander began to speak the door of the counsel chamber opened. In walked none other than General Kirov, accompanied by several armed guards. The guards went to wait outside the counsel chamber, closing the door behind them. "You weren't about to start the meeting without me, were you Alexander?" he asked. "That is awfully rude of you. Your father knew better then to hold a meeting of counsel without me. I'm a little surprised that he didn't pass that knowledge on to his son. Or should I say, his only surviving son."

"Take your seat, General." Alexander ordered.

Kirov couldn't help but smirk. Alexander was trying a little to hard to be like his father. He was trying to act like a veteran ruler, which he was not. He had just come to power. If I really wanted to I could order my troops to take Alexander captive and put myself in charge. Then this city would be run the way it should have been run from the beginning." Kirov thought to himself. "Alexander obviously doesn't realize how easily I could seize power if I really wanted to. But for now at least I'll humor him. He is the son of Caesar, after all."

Kirov nodded and took his seat without saying a word. 

Alexander once again began to address counsel. "My friends, as you are all aware, this is the first time I will be addressing you as your leader. I must admit, I am somewhat nervous; my father always made this look so easy. Anyway, some of you have been asking exactly what I wanted to accomplish as leader. That is what I am going to do at this meeting today. First, I want to continue to improve ape-human relations. We have come a long way but there is still along way to go, as the humans here I'm sure will agree."

McDonald looked to the left towards the gorillas. Kirov had a look of pure anger on his face as Alexander spoke of the need for equality between apes and humans. The general was angrily drumming his gloved fingers on his desk, his teeth visible out of the sides of his mouth.

"Damn gorilla." McDonald thought to himself. "I hope Alexander realizes just how dangerous Kirov really is to the human race." McDonald forced himself to concentrate on what Alexander was saying. He was now talking about increasing crop production and improving the irrigation system to the farms and orchards that surrounded the city. Forcing himself to concentrate, McDonald took out a piece of writing charcoal and a sheet of parchment and began to take notes on Alexander's speech.

The meeting was an unusually long one; it lasted for about five and a half hours. Kirov had remained silent almost the entire time, and most of the gorillas had followed the general's example. 

After the meeting Alexander returned to his parents home, where his mother still lived. "How did I do?" he asked Lisa. 

"Just fine, Alex. You did just fine. You even managed to keep Kirov under control." Was Lisa's answer? "Not many people can keep Kirov under control. Even your father had trouble with him but you did just fine."

Alexander nodded. He would never be the leader his father had been but at least his reign was off to a good start. Alexander looked at the setting sun. His father would be proud of him, or so Alexander hoped.Still, that had only been one counsel meeting. It was no indication of what kind of leader he would be. Still he had handled things well enough, this time.

Meanwhile Kirov road his horse through the city streets towards the armory. He was not in a good mood. Everywhere he looked he saw apes and humans interacting as perfect equals. It was enough to make Kirov physically sick. Was he the only ape alive that still knew what the humans had done to the simian race? Was the only ape who knew anything about history? Humans should be slaves. They should have been suffering for what they had done to the apes but they were not suffering. They were leading comfortable, peaceful lives much the same way they had in the Forbidden City. Well, at least humans had not yet infiltrated the military. The very thought of a human carrying a gun actually scared Kirov, and Kirov was not easily frightened. If humans got a hold of guns they would certainly rise up and try to re-enslave the apes. That was just human nature. Humans were evil, and Kirov would see to it personally that they were put back in their proper place. 

The armory was a large building that was always guarded by twenty gorillas at any one time. Like most public buildings it was built on the ground, where as most private homes were built in the trees. Kirov tied his horse to the hitching post and walked towards the armory' s main entrance. The guards let him through without a word. The general entered the armory building and headed for his office. The armory dabbled as the military's official headquarters and most of the leading officers had their offices there. 

While walking to his office Kirov spotted Cornel Kalinin, another gorilla on the counsel and the army's second highest-ranking officer. The Cornet saluted his general. "Good evening, sir. "

"Good evening, Cornel. Just the ape I wanted to see." 

"I am, Sir?"

General Kirov nodded. "That's right. You see we have a problem, Cornel, and I don't think that our new leader is prepared to address this problem." Kirov continued walking towards his office, the cornel following behind him. "You are no doubt aware that under the law apes and humans are equal?"

Cornel Kalinin nodded. "I am aware of that, sir. There is no legal difference between humans and apes."

"That, Cornel, is our problem."

The two gorillas were now standing in front of Kirov's office. The general unlocked the door and the two gorillas went inside. 

Kirov's office was the biggest office in the building. A desk and chair stood in the middle of the room and on the other side of that were several other chairs for others to sit on. Kirov shut and locked the door behind them. "Have a seat, Cornel."

"Thank you, Sir." Cornel Kalinin sat down in one of the chairs while Kirov took his place behind his desk. "Now then, you wouldn't happen to know what we should do about this little problem of ours, would you Cornel?"

Kalinin seemed uncomfortable as he struggled to find the exact words he was looking for. "Well, we could always appeal to Alexander and try to make him see reason."

Kirov leaned back in his chair and cracked his knuckles. "And you think that is the best way to deal with this situation, Cornel? To talk to the son of Caesar, the ape who made humans our equals in the first place?"

The cornel now seemed even more uncomfortable than before. Kirov was staring right at him, demanding an answer. Kalinin swallowed hard. "Under the current circumstances Sir, I believe that would be the best course of action. He is the rightful leader, which makes him the law so-to-speak. The best way to put humans in their place is to go directly to him and demand that he change the law. After all, he did just come to power so he is still a relatively weak leader. It shouldn't be that difficult to make him see reason, especially if a contingent of armed troops comes along to aid in the process."

Kirov seemed generally impressed with the cornel's answer. He nodded slowly and said, "You have a point Cornel. I'll tell you what. We'll implement this little plan of yours. Go and gather about ten or so soldiers to bring with but don't tell them what this is all about yet. Just make sure that the soldiers you pick are loyal enough to the point that they will obey orders no matter what. Get your soldiers armed, and tell them to be ready to fulfill their mission at a moments notice. I am going to set up an appointment with our glorious leader to make sure that he will be alone when this happens. I don't want that damn human advisor of his to be present when we go through with this. Do you understand your orders, Cornel?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good.One more thing. This probably goes without saying but tell nobody outside your chosen soldiers about this. And be sure to instruct them not to tell anyone. This is top secret. Nobody can know about this operation, especially not Alexander. Now go on and get started. I'm going to pay the son of Caesar a little visit."

"Yes, Sir. Good luck."

"Good luck, Cornel."

The two gorillas saluted and went their separate ways. Cornel Kalinin headed to the main area of the armory to secure himself guns and ammunition and to begin the hunt for soldiers to carry out this mission. Kirov left the armory and went to where his horse was still tied up. It was dark by this time, and most of the people had retired to their homes for the night. Only a few laborers were still out, and most of them were preparing to head home. Kirov mounted his horse and began riding in the direction of Alexander's house. He checked his pocket as he started off. His Colt 45 was still there. He always carried his handgun with him though nobody else knew it. It was against the law for citizens of the city, even generals, to carry weapons. He had never had to actually use it, but now he might get his chance. If Alexander refused to meet with him, and there was a good chance that he night, Kirov could force his hand by showing Alexander the gun. Laughing quietly to himself, Kirov spurred his horse on. This was going to be an interesting night to say the least.

Virgil was lighting a candle in his living room when he heard the sound of a horse riding by below. Curious to know who it was, he went to the window and looked down. He saw a large gorilla riding at a good speed in the direction of Alexander's house. "That is General Kirov. Where is he going? His house is in the other direction. Could he be heading to Alexander's house?" Virgil shook his head. "I'm probably worrying about nothing." He told himself. He watched as the gorilla ride by. As he passed by Virgil could see something concealed in the general's pocket. "Is that…it is! A gun! So, I wasn't worrying about nothing!" Virgil knew he had to do something. He left his house and got to the ground just as Kirov was out of sight. Virgil wasted no time in beginning to run in the same direction. He was out of shape which ment that he couldn't run vary fast and even if he could he still would have no chance of beating Kirov's horse. Still, he might get there before Kirov actually used the gun. 

Virgil's lungs were starting to burn and his legs and side hurt. He wanted to stop and rest but he didn't have the time. Besides, Alexander's house was now visible in the distance, and Kirov's horse was tied up in front.

**_CHAPTER 2 COMING SOON!_**


	2. The human without a voice

Successor to the Planet of the Apes Chapter 2

Successor to the Planet of the Apes

Chapter2-The human without a voice

General Kirov tied his horse up outside Alexander's house. He could see a candle burning through the window, which ment that Alexander was home. The gorilla began the climb to the entrance, knowing full well that Alexander would probably not be very happy about someone just barging in on him like this. There was always the possibility Alexander would have him arrested for trespassing, but since the army doubled as the cities police force the soldiers sent to do the job would be to afraid to take their own general into custody.

Kirov now stood on the small balcony of Alexander's house. He tried to open the door but found it to be locked. He knocked as loudly as he could but still no answer. "Damn it where the hell is he? Alexander?" Still there was no answer. "What the hell is going on here?" Kirov said quietly to himself. "Alexander should have answered the door by now. Maybe he isn't home after all."

A voice from below asked, "What is going on up there, General? Isn't Alexander home?" 

Kirov looked down to see Virgil standing near his horse. "Apparently not. If he is he isn't answering the door. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I was just about to ask you the same question, Kirov. To answer your question I'm here to speak to Alexander about something."

"What a coincidence." The general smirked. "So am I." Kirov climbed down and mounted his horse. "I'm going to check Alexander's mother's house." He announced simply. 

"I'm coming with you." There was no way in hell Virgil was going to let Kirov shoot Alexander.

"You don't have a horse. Besides, I want to talk to Alexander alone. Well, actually I want to set up an appointment to talk with him." Kirov pointed his horse in the direction of Lisa's house. 

"Well. In that case you shouldn't mind my coming along. I want to speak with him alone as well. Then I want to go home and finish up some writing I'm working on. So if you would stop stalling General, we could get going." Virgil now stood alongside Kirov's horse, making sure that he could see the pocket with the gun in it.

The two headed off without speaking to each other. Lisa's house wasn't more than a half-mile away so the trip wasn't a long one. As Kirov had thought Alexander was at his mother's house; the two were sitting in Lisa's living room talking about the counsel meeting coming up the next week. Lisa was the first to hear Kirov and Virgil climbing up to the entrance to her house. "We've got visitors." She told Alexander. "It's Virgil and Kirov. I wonder what they want."

Alexander stood up and joined his mother at the window. "I don't know." Alexander found it odd that Virgil and the general had come all this way together since the two didn't get along at all. He forced himself to put his growing suspicions aside as Lisa let the two visitors into her home.

"Alexander, Lisa, good to see you both." Said Virgil as he walked in. Kirov followed silently. Finally said, "We have to talk, Alexander. I don't have the time tonight but I was thinking that we could set up a time in the near future. There are some issues I want to discuss with you."

Alexander nodded. "Fine. But why just discuss these issues of yours with me? Why not bring these issues up before the counsel next week?"

Kirov smirked. Why had he not thought of that? He would get every ape on the counsel on his side and the counsel would force Alexander to change the law. And if for some reason that didn't work he could always go back to his original plan. "I'll do that. Am I assured time to speak at the next counsel meeting then?"

"If you want time you can have it. McDonald has something he wants to bring to the counsel's attention but when he is finished you can have all the time you need." 

Kirov nodded. "Excellent. Well then, I'll be off. Good night sir."

Good night, General.

Kirov mounted his horse and rode back towards the armory. He had to tell Cornel Kalinin about this change of plans. Meanwhile Virgil had not yet left Lisa's house. "Keep an eye on him." He advised Alexander. "I don't know what he wants to say to the counsel but I do know that it probably isn't anything good. And besides, I saw a gun in his pocket as he was riding by my house earlier tonight. He is dangerous, Sir. Watch your step."

"A gun?" Alexander and Lisa said in almost perfect unison. "Are you sure?" Alexander asked.

"Fairly sure, yes."

Lisa stared out the window, looking down at where the general's horse had been tied up. "Maybe he is planning on trying to kill you, just like Aldo killed your brother Cornelius." She said in a tone of voice that was both angry and sad at the same time. The room was quiet for some time after that until Virgil spoke. "I don't know what he is planning but we can't take any chances. My son Jacob is good friends with a major named Sergei. Maybe the major can go digging around and get us some information about exactly what Kirov is planning."

Alexander took a few seconds to respond. "Excellent. Normally I wouldn't allow that kind of thin but this is a special case. See if your son can set that up with the major. I doubt Kirov will try anything before next weeks counsel meeting but with him you can never be sure."

"Yes, Sir. It shouldn't be too difficult to do. I'll go talk to Jacob now." Virgil walked to the door and before he left he said, "Alexander, I suggest that you spend the night here, for your own safety."

"Now, I'm going home. Like I said, Kirov won't do anything before the next counsel meeting. I'm safe for now, I hope."

"Yes, Sir. Just be careful." Virgil left. Alexander said goodnight to his mother and left fifteen minuets later.

The next counsel meeting was scheduled for the Monday of the following week. Kirov made sure he was on time as he was not about to give up his speaking time. He knew exactly what he was going to say. He had his entire speech written down on a piece of parchment, which he now had folded up in his pocket. 

Once the entire counsel had gathered Alexander called the meeting to order. "Thank you all for coming. We have a full schedule for this weeks meeting so lets get started. First, I believe Mr. McDonald has something he wants to bring to the counsel's attention. Go ahead, Mr. McDonald."

McDonald stood up, cleared his throat, and began to speak. "Thank you, Alexander. I do indeed have something I want to bring to the counsel's attention." In a louder voice he called, "Bring him in."

The doors opened and two humans entered leading a human child by the hand. The child was a male that looked to be about three to five years old. He had light brown hair and seemed nervous in the face of all these strangers. The two adults brought the child to stand by McDonald and went to wait outside. 

"This is Peter." McDonald announced. "Say hello to the counsel, Peter."

The human child tentatively raised his hand and waved to the counsel.

"Tell the counsel how old you are, Peter."

Peter lifted his hand, showing the counsel four fingers.

"That's right. Your four years old. Very good, Peter." McDonald again addressed the counsel. "Most if not all of you are probably wondering what the point of all this is. Well, let me begin by saying that little Peter here is no ordinary child. Now all of you know that most normal human children are capable of some speech by age two and that by age four are fully capable of speech. Well, Peter here is completely mute.He is not capable of speech."

A low murmur ran through the counsel. "What is wrong with him? What do the doctors say?"Another human asked.

"The doctors have no idea what the problem is. Some say that the problem lies somewhere in his brain but we simply don't have the technology to confirm that. Besides, Peter has just been enrolled in school and is reported to be doing quite well. He is able to everything a normal four year old should be able to do. The only problem is that he can't speak. I have recently found that Peter is not unique. There is another four year old and two three year olds, all of them human, with the same problem as Peter. As in Peter's case, the doctors can't figure out what is wrong with any of them."

Kirov laughed quietly to himself.This was just to perfect. The humans were gradually becoming animals. First the ability to speak would go, then the ability to think and reason. Soon the humans would be no more intelligent then his horse. They would be animals, and what self respecting ape would want to call an animal his equal? 

Virgil stood up at this point and addressed counsel. "Mr. McDonald, if the boy's parents have no objections I would like to study this child myself. I know the doctors couldn't offer anything in the way of a diagnosis but just for my own scientific purposes I would very much like the chance to examine the boy myself. I'm not saying that I could come any closer to solving this mystery then the doctors did but I would appreciate the chance to conduct my own investigation into this matter."

McDonald nodded approvingly. "As it so happens Mr. Virgil, that is exactly why I have brought this matter to the counsel's attention.I was hoping that a committee could be formed to look into the cases of these mute human children and hopefully offer up some answers.I know that Peter's parents do not object and I'm sure that the parents of the other children would be more than willing to let their children participate."

Virgil nodded, thanked McDonald and took his seat. Another human asked, "Have these children been through any kind of speech therapy? What exactly has been done to help them to speak?"

They have been through every kind of therapy and treatment imaginable. One doctor has even suggested performing surgery on their thoughts to see if the problem lies in their vocal chords but none of their parents would allow it. This isn't the Forbidden City after all, and we simply don't have the tools and equipment to perform that kind of surgery safely. We don't even have any kind of anesthetic so the surgery would be horribly painful for them to say the least. As for speech therapy, Peter here has been doing a special regiment of speech therapies designed especially for him by the doctors every day for nearly a year. These include things like making basic letter sounds and repeating simple words and phrases that his parents say back to them. So far nothing has worked. Peter has shown nothing in the way of progress. The doctors simply don't know what to do with him any longer."

"And whatever is causing this has not affected any ape children?" Kirov asked, not bothering to stand up.

"That is correct, general. So far no ape children have been affected. Whatever this is seems to be isolated entirely to the human population."

Kirov nodded. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. Soon the humans would be nothing more than mindless, speechless animals. There would be no call for human equality; apes should fill no human children in the schools, no humans filling jobs that should be filled by apes. Kirov snickered and leaned back in his chair. This was just too perfect.

Alexander, meanwhile, had a very different perspective on the situation. He remembered Caesar telling him that his parents, Alexander's grandparents, were two chimpanzees from earth's future named Cornelius and Zira. They had come from the year 3950, a time when humans were primitive animals dominated by the apes. But the apes had destroyed the earth during a military campaign. Caesar had not known exactly how earth would be destroyed; all he knew was that his parents along with another chimpanzee named Milo were the only survivors. That is why Alexander wanted apes and humans to be equal. If the apes ruled the earth alone the earth would be destroyed. Caesar had done his best to make absolutely sure that didn't happen and Alexander planned to do the same but the humans were already showing signs or regressing to an animal state. If the humans could loose their voice they could very well loose their minds as well. And if that happened the apes of the future would destroy the planet. Still, there was still a chance to keep that from happening. "You may have your investigative committee, Mr. McDonald. As is standard practice with all committees, I will expect a weekly progress report detailing what has been accomplished so far. You and Virgil will lead this committee. You may each choose three others, counsel members or not, to make up the committee and you will bring them before the counsel at next weeks meeting so they can begin their work.How much time do you think you will need?"

"To be honest with you Sir, I don't know. The doctors have been working on Peter's case for the last two years with no progress. I know it will take time but I'm afraid I can't tell you exactly how much time. It could be a week a month, a decade. At this point there really is no way of knowing how long this will take."

"Very well. Assemble your committee. Do you have anything else you would like to add?"

"Just one thing. Like I said nobody as of yet knows what is causing this but whatever it is it is affecting only humans. I want to make sure before I yield the floor that the humans affected by this still have equal protection under the law.Not to offend anyone here but there are still some apes out there that wais to see my fellow humans and I remanded to second-class citizens and the infected human children are a perfect target for those apes. So to make sure the infected human children I am hear and now putting foreword a measure for an immediate vote. This is the measure, a two month jail term and one year probation for anyone, human or ape, who discriminated against those children."

The vote was taken and passed with flying colors. The only counsel members who didn't vote for it were the gorillas. Now the measure would be put into writing, the details hammered out at the next counsel meeting, and then Alexander would sigh it into law. 

That done McDonald yielded the floor and took his seat as the two humans re entered the room and led little Peter out. The child gave the counsel one last wave as the doors shut behind him.

"Now I believe that General Kirov has something he would like to say. General. Is that correct?" Alexander asked looking expectantly at the general.

"That is correct." Kirov rose from his seat, took his speech from his pocket, unfolded it, and began to speak.

**_CHAPTER 3 ON THE WAY!_**


End file.
